Traffic Stop

Ashoka has welcomed Kendis Paris to its honored U.S.-based social entrepreneurs. Paris is the executive director behind Truckers Against Trafficking, a national nonprofit that raises awareness about how the trucking industry can make a difference in the fight against human trafficking. Ashoka is the world’s largest organization of social entrepreneurs.

In a series of Innocence Lost stings from 2004 to present, the FBI identified truck stops (and rest stops) as one of the places where women and children were forced into prostitution. Paris co-founded Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) to see members of the trucking industry educated, equipped, empowered, and mobilized to combat domestic sex trafficking as part of their regular jobs. This is something that can also be replicated across modes of transportation.

When asked who influences her most, Kendis Paris says, “My mother, who had the initial idea for TAT the initiative, and raised me to become all God created me to be. My husband, who loves me well, and supports this work in a hundred different ways. And Jesus Christ, who inspires, guides, and strengthens me to help those who need it most.”